Laguna de Olomega

Overview

Freshwater ecosystems across Central America face intensifying pressures from anthropogenic pollution, habitat degradation, and invasive species, placing aquatic biodiversity and adjacent terrestrial communities at risk. In Laguna de Olomega, a eutrophic tropical lake in southeastern El Salvador, these threats are compounded by untreated wastewater discharge and intentional introductions of invasive taxa such as tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) and water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Despite the lake’s ecological and cultural significance, baseline biodiversity data remain scarce, constraining effective conservation planning and policy response. To address this gap, we conducted the first integrative biodiversity survey of Laguna de Olomega using environmental DNA (eDNA) to capture species presence across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. We combined water-column sampling with Sterivex filters and sediment-based eDNA collection, stratified by ecological gradients and dominant land-use types (n = 32) determined via geospatial analysis. A multi-marker eDNA metabarcoding approach employing three primer sets (COI, 12S, 16S) was used to maximize taxonomic breadth: COI targeted invertebrates with high species-level resolution for arthropods, mollusks, and annelids; vert12S enabled detection of fishes and vertebrates from degraded eDNA; and V16S enhanced detection of amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals across the terrestrial–aquatic interface.

• Key Project Questions

  Can metabarcoding establish a biodiversity baseline for a data-deficient tropical ecosystem? How do anthropogenic pressures and land-use patterns influence species composition and bioindicators across the terrestrial-aquatic interface? Can data successfully integrate into community-based mgmt?

• Last Updated

  02/06/2026

  Project Timeline

  07/21/2025 - 07/28/2025

• Contributors

  Not Specified